At 50 years old, with 35 of them spent within the tobacco pre-industry, Rosa Argentina Espinoza Galeano was the sixth of eight siblings. Although born in Estelí, she has lived since childhood in Jalapa, Nicaragua –the city where she found the stemming process to be a pleasant and passionate career, one she intends to keep “until her body gives out.”
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She began forging her path at the age of 15. It was then that she secured a job at Humo Selecto, a company that offered her a space to learn about rezago –the sorting of leaves for wrapper, binder, and filler– as well as the technique of tobacco stemming (despalillo), which consists of removing the central vein from the leaves.
She says she found a stable source of work to meet her needs and those of her home and family. Since 2006, she has served as the Head of the Stemming Hall. This has been her sole income, yet it was enough to acquire a house and support the upbringing of her five children.
Rosa Argentina has 47 people under her charge, the majority of whom are women, with only 16 men. “But everyone works the same; there is no gender difference. Perhaps there is a bit more delicacy in female hands, but the men do their jobs as well.”
She reviews the classification of stemmed leaves by class and size, separated into viso, seco, and ligero. Large leaves range from 17 to 20 inches; medium from 15 to 16 inches; and small from 12 to 14 inches. They are further differentiated by classes “A,” “B,” and “C,” according to their quality –from the finest to those presenting some degree of damage.
The goal of her department is to complete 140-pound boxes daily, destined for the drying area where each leaf is laid out and the raw material is packed, both for Humo Selecto’s own consumption and for sale to other companies in the country.
Rosa Argentina considers working with tobacco to be tiring and, at first, a bit bothersome due to the scents the leaf releases during the various processes. But at the same time, it represents the source of income that brings daily sustenance to her home.
From her experience, she invites women to join the tobacco industry: “Because when you get a job, once you enter, you don’t want to leave. These are 35 years of my life in tobacco, which has given me stability and peace of mind. It’s what I learned, and I’m going to do it until my body decides it doesn’t want to work anymore.”
She hopes to remain linked to this sector “as long as the Lord keeps me alive,” because it is an activity she enjoys day after day, proud of her experience and leadership. “Being in charge of other people is difficult, but not impossible; you have to try to understand everyone and get along with them all.”
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